


Not Here

by jeejaschocolate



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Aftermath of non-con, Beginnings of Romance, Can be read as gen, Headcanon, M/M, No Smut, Non-Consensual Touching, Virgin!Noctis, conflicted!Ardyn, humanized villains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 18:05:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10519014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeejaschocolate/pseuds/jeejaschocolate
Summary: (Written for a prompt on the kinkmeme)While Noctis and his friends spend time on an imperial airship, Noctis ends up a victim of unwanted attention.Ardyn sees this and cannot help intervening. It’s not that he hates the idea of Noctis getting hurt, it’s just that…he’s supposed to be the one in charge of the True King’s suffering.…And where is that filthy Niflheim peasant putting his hands?





	

**Author's Note:**

> I have sold myself to the kinkmeme anons. And I have no regrets.
> 
> Written for the prompt: "I enjoy evil rapist!Ardyn as much as the next depraved person, but I thought it might be fun to shake things up a bit?
> 
> Maybe takes place during that brief time period when the group is with the Empire, after Titan? And some soldier or captain or whoever, gets fresh with Noctis. Maybe corners him somewhere separate from his friends, gets a little handsy, threatens to hurt them if Noctis doesn't do what he wants, etc etc.
> 
> Anyway, Ardyn comes across this happening, and is very. not. happy. He's genuinely disgusted and angry about what the guy was trying to do to Noctis. But maybe he also feels kind of... proprietary over Noctis? In an "anything bad that happens in his life needs to be orchestrated by me and no one else" type of way?)"
> 
> So I read this and I'm like....why can't there be actual tenderness between these two?? Besides, I am an absolute sucker for humanized villains. 
> 
> As I said on dreamwidth, my headcanon around Ardyn is that in his own time he was basically a "sin eater," like the kind of person who absorbs all the evilness inside of himself to purify things. But that means he had to live with the daemons and obviously, after Bahamut/Crystal rejected him and everything, there were some feelings. Some corruption. And now we're here.
> 
> This is the first thing I've written in a while with no pron! That said, I might keep the story going because I love hurt/comfort smut.
> 
> TW: non-con touching, non-con dirty talking, shaming, aftermath, etc.

“…And don’t touch my car.” 

Chancellor Izunia issued his last bit of instructions to the Niflheim underlings handling his affairs on this airship. He didn’t know how many times he would have to ask them, politely, to keep their wax-smearingfingerprints off his fucking car, but. Apparently it was more than once. 

Sighing in defeat and shaking his head, Ardyn pulled the brim of his hat farther down over his face. He could already see those Niflheim servants pussyfooting around his vehicle, unsure how to properly cover it without laying a finger on it, and he didn’t exactly want to see anymore. 

Is this what passed for service these days? 

Ardyn glanced over to the Regalia, parked neatly next to his own car in this garage aboard the Imperial airship. A nice car, yeah. Those boys took care of it. 

An image of the four young Lucian men he was currently stalking popped into his head. He pictured Noctis and Gladiolus in the backseat, Noctis perched defiantly on the back hood of the car with the top down. His black hair tossed about by the wind while Noctis kept his eyes ever forward, staring into the distance with a look of expectancy only afforded to youth. Gladiolus reading a book indifferently over to the side. Prompto wiggling in the front seat, going on about a picture he wanted to take. Ignis steadfastly behind the wheel.

Actually, Ardyn didn't have to use much imagination. He had seen this image himself many times. After all, he had been tracking their group for some time now. 

They were boring, he told himself. Occupying themselves with casual hunts and menial tasks (a hunt for catoblepas brisket? a quest for an abandoned van full of beans?). Ardyn had needed to move things along by giving them his tip about Titan just to keep himself from dying of dullness. Get them passed the blockade, offer his own airship to get them back, anything! Just no more painfully tedious flan hunts in the dead of night, as boring as watching grass grow in Duscae. 

And it had been nice to see his favorite Sisyphean-minded Archaeon. Titan looked unchanged in the thousand some-odd years since the last time he had seen him. 

Titan, like the rest of those holier-than-thou Archaeons, could speak to him. In the same way he did to Noctis. They supplied Ardyn with visions of his own past, things two-thousand years past, to try and slow down his progress. Images of his downfall among the people of Lucis, how they had chained him and mocked him, how they had used him.

Like that was going to change Ardyn’s mind.

What a waste of effort. Those hypocrites sealed their fate the moment they deemed him unworthy of the Crystal’s power. Noctis, this virginal, cut-glass sculpture of a boy, was their True King, was he? Fine. Ardyn could push past him and take what he wanted on his own.

Almost too easily, if he were being honest. Noctis was barely capable of standing on his own two feet most of the time. If he didn’t have the other three with him…well, he would not have gotten past the front door of the Citadel, most likely. 

Ardyn strolled through the airship, the hem of his black duster sweeping the floor with a crackling type of energy. MT technology responded to him. Of course it did, what with the daemons inside of him clamoring to get out. Being on this airship was like being on top of a big balloon, and Ardyn was the wool cloth that rubbed against the surface to stir up the molecules within. 

He might as well check up on the pauper prince and his companions. They were in enemy territory aboard this vessel, after all. Might be fun to see them on edge. 

Ardyn reached out with his consciousness, feeling along the walls of the ship for the presence of those four Lucians. He knew where Noctis was right away, could always kind of feel Noctis’s presence, no matter the distance between them. Blood connections, and all. How nice to have family around. And the other three, with their connection to Noctis through the Armiger, he could easily pinpoint. 

Let’s see. They were in one of the rooms, alone together with guards outside…

Sitting. Playing phone games. That accounted for the blonde MT (how could they not _know_ about him? Ardyn chuckled gleefully at the thought that he would be the one to force the truth) and the Shield. Then there was the bespectacled advisor. Standing, tapping gloved fingers against his arm, watching the door. A crease of worry in between his eyebrows. The advisor was anxious?

Did that qualify as being stirred up? Ardyn titled his head curiously as he spied on them in his mind’s eye. 

But where was Noctis? He wasn’t in that room, but his presence was nearby…

Ardyn closed his eyes as he searched for the so-called True King. He knew he was getting close, down the halls through the labyrinthine corridors of this place…

A wave of hot, salty fear slapped Ardyn’s inner consciousness. He saw Noctis—the real Noctis, as he existed in Ardyn’s mind, purple-eyed, wild and beautiful—afraid. Noctis was there, right there on this very airship, and deathly afraid.

“Nnh…” Ardyn groaned when he opened his eyes (a reddish glow fading from his pupils as he came back to the physical present). He could still taste the fear in his mouth and a reciprocal shiver ran through his spine.

Whoa. Noctis had never been this afraid before, Ardyn was sure of it. Not in the handful of years he had been spying on him through their tenuous connection. 

Here, right now? Ardyn frowned. Noctis was scared for his life just a few steps away? 

…Had he planned that?

Without thinking, Ardyn hurried through the ship to where he had felt Noctis’s presence. He tried to remember any hastily laid machinations where Noctis was supposed to be on death’s door in the next few days (it wasn’t often he forgot his own plans, but yeah, sometimes…there was a lot going on, anyway). But no, his plans were not set to come to fruition for some time yet. Not until Altissia.

And that _fear._ The daemons inside of him rejoiced to feel that intense, mind-numbing terror. Ardyn had been living with these daemons for thousands of years, ever since he first became a healer of the Starscourge. Long before he had given in to the daemon’s hatred and jealousy, Ardyn learned to intuit things from the daemons themselves. If they were elated like this, then…something inherently evil was taking place.

“When’s the last time you were fucked? Come on, you can tell me…”

Ardyn heard a man’s voice, in a Niflheim accent, behind a closed door. Here was the onset of the terror, Ardyn could tell. The daemons roared to life, kicked up into a fervor by the proximity. 

“Tch…gh…j-just…just stop…” 

That was Noctis’s voice. 

Ardyn’s pulse raced. The daemons wanted him to sit back and enjoy the show. _It’ll be good, it’ll be great…check it out!_ (The daemons didn’t have voices or speech, but they had a collective consciousness. And by now Ardyn was capable of interpreting them.) 

Before opening the door, Ardyn reached out with his mind’s power to see what was going on. He could have walked in but then that would have disturbed the scene. And the daemons didn’t want that. He was used to doing what the daemons wanted. These days, his own desires and theirs coincided quite nicely. 

He saw Noctis, pressed up against a wall by a Niflheim officer. The man had his leg shoved in between Noctis’s thighs and both of his armored arms on either side of Noctis’s head. Completely trapping him. 

Ardyn immediately thought that this was an amorous encounter. It had to be consensual because Noctis did not look like he was fighting back. Why didn’t Noctis simply push the other man away? He was certainly stronger than this run-of-the-mill officer? A captain with maybe basic sword skills. So Noctis had probably invited this and then they were just doing as the birds and the bees did…and yet…

The fear. Ardyn’s vision swam in orange and bright yellow tones as he registered the fear radiating off the prince. He felt bile in his throat, no doubt the same as what was in the young man’s own throat. 

Noctis’s face was crumpled into a caricature of terror and discomfort. He was twitching between the man’s arms. Helpless and afraid.

No, Noctis definitely did not want this. He had just frozen for some reason in this man’s hands. 

Ardyn’s mind rapidly put together the pieces. Not consensual, Noctis was being attacked. 

A roiling pit of hellfire stirred to life inside Ardyn’s stomach. His daemon-addled mind could not identify the feeling yet, but he felt…something. Something…unusual, at least. He looked on wordlessly for a few moments as he took stock of himself.

The Niflheim captain pressed his nose against Noctis’s neck. “Mmm…” he said, inhaling deeply. “You smell like a damn prince. I like that, it’s hot. And your skin is so soft…” The man patted an ungloved hand over the side of Noctis’s face. “…just like a girl’s.”

“…Mm…” Noctis tried to twist his head away from the touch, but there wasn’t enough room.

In response, the man raised his thigh and ground it between Noctis’s legs. The prince cried out and went completely still in response.

“Oh yeah, you like that?” the man muttered, clearly aroused himself now. “Feels good, doesn’t it? I bet it does. I bet you like it…” He pressed his leg up harder and laid open-mouth kisses to Noctis’s neck. “I bet you’re a slutty fucking prince. How many guys have you spread your legs for, huh? How many of those high-class Lucians bent you over?”

Noctis squeezed his eyes closed. The daemons inside Ardyn cackled and cackled. _None, no one ever before! This is his ruination…_ (Noctis was a virgin? Well it made sense. The kid did not exactly have the social charms of a young man who’d had much experience. Besides, the daemons were never wrong about these things. They just knew.) 

The captain licked a long stripe up Noctis’s neck. The prince whimpered in response, going slack and falling slightly against the man’s arm. 

“Mmm, baby you are so hot. So wild. I’m gonna make you feel good, alright? Would you like that?” 

“Ah…N-n-no…!” Noctis shook his head slowly, trying and failing to regain his footing.

The Niflheim officer shoved his hand where his leg had just been. He cupped Noctis through his jeans and moaned out loud. “Yeah, you say that but, you’re hard right here. I know you want it. You want it bad don’t you, you fucking slut?” 

Tears formed behind Noctis’s closed eyes. The man palmed him roughly and Noctis let out the most broken cry Ardyn had ever heard from someone in the Lucis line. 

_Yes, make him come! Make him lose himself, make him hate himself! Hate everything…destroy him!_ (The daemons worshipped hatred and its propagation. They were loving this, naturally.)

But…

Ardyn felt his form trying to shift into its natural daemonic state. But even while his body tried to transform into something that wanted this to happen, Ardyn’s eyes refused to look away from Noctis’s face. He saw the young man open his eyes a fraction. He watched as tears dripped down. Eyes that were normally so defiant and young and lovely seemed broken…

Ardyn gasped.

Something inside of himself solidified. Something he had long forgotten about, a bedrock of strength and nobility bred through his very blood. He felt the hellfire of anger and outrage over the idea that someone—a peasant, an idiot, a _nothing_ —would put his hands on Noctis. 

How _dare_ he? How dare this filth touch royalty? How dare he defile something as pure as Noctis? 

_I want to be the one to do that to him!_ Part of Ardyn cried out. _But not here! Not now. Not…_

Maybe not ever. Not this, anyway. He wanted Noctis to suffer, but not…like this. This was wrong, it was disgusting and unspeakable. This was beneath him and everything, except the daemons. 

He would not allow this happen.

Ardyn let out a kingly cry. It sent a slight (imperceptible to the normal mortal senses) shiver through the MT airship. Maybe Prompto felt it, wherever he was. But where he stood, golden light shimmered across Ardyn’s form, chasing away the daemonic traits that had started to stain his skin. It was a light from Ardyn himself, though he had not used it like this in more than a millennium. 

Himself again, Ardyn burst through the door separating him from the unbearable scene.

The captain whipped around, practically jumping away from Noctis. A coward, obviously. Untouched,  Noctis immediately slid to the floor. He took in the sight of Ardyn and buried his face in his hands.

“Ch-chancellor!” the captain squeaked. “Wh-what are you…doing here…?”

“Doing?” Ardyn asked, as casually as ever. He walked over to the man, dwarfing him in sheer size, not to mention presence. He towered over this speck of a man and adjusted his fedora confidently. “Only this, Officer. Nothing more.” 

With that, Ardyn stripped the man of his captain’s stripes right where he stood. He ripped the armor from the man’s body and threw it in pieces to the floor. 

“You are hereby relieved of your position in the Imperial Army,” Ardyn explained (unnecessarily, as the man’s face showed that he knew what was happening to him). “And furthermore exiled from Niflheim and its affiliate states. If I ever see you again, or hear word breathed of your presence anywhere in my vicinity, I will…” 

Ardyn stepped in close to the ex-captain who was quivering where he stood. For good measure, Ardyn’s face flashed to its daemonic visage (at least that satiated the heehawing consciousness inside of him). He finished his statement in the otherworldly tongue of darkness: “…end you.”

The man bowed his head a few times, not even bothering to defend himself. He was clearly just happy to escape with his life. Looking nowhere but the door, the ex-captain fled the room on shaky feet. A broken man, career-finished.

Ardyn could have just killed him. But then he would have a body to explain, such a tiresome thing. He could have made the man stand trial for political treason, but then Noctis would have to speak out against him. And that was nowhere near what Ardyn wanted. He wanted this man’s contact with Noctis finished, more than over, he wanted it to become a memory that could be snuffed into nothing.

Alone with the prince, Ardyn turned toward Noctis. The young man was sitting on the floor, holding his knees tightly together with one hand, pressing his face into his palm with the other. The sound of his heavy, uneven breathing set Ardyn’s nerves on edge.

_He’s weak. You can…_

No.

“Noctis…” 

The prince heaved at the sound of his name and threw one hand in front of him. Black hair shielded his face from view. He shooed Ardyn away forcefully.

“No, don’t…” the prince began. He tried to push away Ardyn’s presence with that one hand meeting nothing but air. “Don’t…say anything, okay?” 

Ardyn took a deep breath. He could sense how fragile the True King was right now. It excited the daemons, but the rest of him…felt nothing but pain. This boy’s glass form was cracking. It…hurt Ardyn to see that. 

Hurt? Actual hurt. Sympathy, empathy, sadness. For the first time in…? Would the daemons feast on these emotions, or…?

But the daemons were strangely silent all of a sudden.

So Ardyn acted on instinct. He knelt down next to Noctis and said in a quiet voice, “The danger has passed, Noctis. Come, get on your feet…”

Ardyn held out a hand, entering Noctis’s space. He meant the hand to be a peace offering, but Noctis flinched away from him and curled further in on himself.

“No!” he cried, shuffling away. “…Don’t look at me! … …please…” 

The chancellor could not help recoiling a bit at that response. So sudden.And Noctis was still viscerally afraid, shunning any kind of physical contact. That made sense, Ardyn supposed. But still…the newfound pain inside of him twitched as he watched Noctis try to make himself smaller, squeezing his thighs together as if afraid they would open on their own. Giving only his back to Ardyn.

They stayed like that for a few minutes. Ardyn needed to think logically about what Noctis needed in this moment—because the daemons were mute as stones….and his heart was telling him to wrap Noctis up in his arms and take him far, far away from here. To hold onto him until he stopped quivering. That’s what Ardyn wanted to do.

But that was not going to happen, he knew. It was not what Noctis needed in that moment. And, yeah, it was completely crazy to entertain notions like that for his sworn rival, the person he had hated for thousands of years, since before Noctis was born, even…

So, calmly, Ardyn took off his long coat. He held it out to Noctis, heedless of the fact that he was staring at the young man’s back. “Here.” 

Noctis turned his head slightly. Hesitantly, he took the coat in one hand. Then, slowly, one hand became two and Noctis unfurled his body a little. Swallowing noisily, the prince covered himself with Ardyn’s coat, disappearing into it as if the garment could swallow him whole. 

Noctis was fully clothed still, of course. There had been no under-the-clothes touching that Ardyn had witnessed. But still, the chancellor knew Noctis probably felt more naked now than ever. More exposed, more vulnerable. So he let Noctis wrap the coat around his front, from the bottom of the prince’s nose all the way down to his feet. 

“…Thank you…” Noctis said, slightly muffled by the thick fabric of the duster.

“Of course.” Ardyn eased into a sitting position, figuring that they might be there for a while. But he would wait it out as long as it took, he already decided.

A few more minutes passed. Ardyn glanced around the room. He thought about perhaps calling for the three retainers, maybe Noctis needed them more than him (probably should have been one of them to stop this whole thing, in a perfect world). But how could he get to them without leaving Noctis and without giving away his other abilities…? 

“…I didn’t…” Noctis said suddenly.

Ardyn turned back to him, eyes widening when he saw that Noctis was crying silently. (Such a thing…? Even something like this, without any actual rape, could break this prince? He was so sensitive…so pure. Ardyn’s insides churned to think what would have happened if he had not stopped this encounter. …Better to be grateful it had not gone any further.) 

“I didn’t…” the prince repeated, wiping his eyes against the collar of Ardyn’s coat. “….I didn’t…ask him to do any of that, okay? I didn’t…want him to. He just found me on my way back from the bathroom and cornered me. I didn’t…ugh.” Noctis’s face scrunched into self-loathing. “I couldn’t…do anything. I just…my body stopped working. I don’t know why…” 

Ardyn inched forward automatically. He wanted to erase that look of self-loathing with one sweep of his hand. But he kept these out of character urges to himself.

“…It’s alright, Noctis.” Ardyn swiped his mouth awkwardly. Of course it wasn’t ‘alright’ but he had to say something. “You don’t have to explain it to me. I…understand what happened.” 

Noctis looked up at him, watery eyes wide. Ardyn grunted as he held himself back from stroking that face in condolence. (Daemons? Hello? Where were they when he actually needed them?!) 

“You…?” Noctis seemed to be searching Ardyn’s face for any sign of betrayal. Of course, Ardyn was expert liar and knew how to keep his face still no matter the circumstances, but even so. Right now he had nothing to hide.

So he kept his face the way it was. Mostly blank, but tinged with worry for Noctis.

Noctis sighed, tension breaking. He wiped his face against the duster again (he certainly was free with other people’s things, Ardyn noted, the sign of a prince that’s for sure). 

“This doesn’t…happen all the time, I mean, okay?” Noctis said in a rush. “Like I’ve never…this hasn’t happened to me before. Got it?” His eyes narrowed defensively.

Ardyn let out a breath. “You don’t have to defend yourself. The matter was handled, and I don’t…think differently of you, if that’s what you’re worried about.” 

Noctis stared at him, face mostly covered by the coat. He looked like he didn’t believe Ardyn for a second. A sudden jolt of understanding struck the chancellor. 

Against his better judgement, Ardyn placed his hand gently on Noctis’s shoulder. The prince flinched hard and a shiver ran through his whole body, but he allowed it. 

“This wasn’t your fault, Noctis.” Ardyn’s voice was quiet. Calm but sure, totally convinced of his words and wanting Noctis to feel the same way.

He did. He did not want Noctis to think for a second he had invited that filth upon himself. Of all the things Noctis was guilty of (robbing Ardyn of his chance at the Crystal’s power, being spoiled beyond belief, being the True King), he had not asked to be assaulted. Ardyn knew that more than anything. He would fight to have the prince believe it.

Noctis choked with tears. He cried again, more vocally this time. He squeezed his face with one hand and stuttered, “I could have…fought him. I should have…I don’t know why…but I…I should have moved, done _something_ , but…”

Ardyn gripped Noctis’s shoulder harder. “No. Even then, you’re not the one at fault, Noctis. You didn’t…you just hesitated. It happens to the best of us. Don’t…do this to yourself.” He took a deep breath. “Please.” 

Noctis cried for a few more moments. His shoulders shook. Then, without warning, he slumped forward and pressed his forehead against Ardyn’s chest.

The chancellor flinched when Noctis closed the distance between them. He faltered for a moment, unsure what to do. He could feel Noctis’s tears seeping through the thin fabric of his dress shirt. He could feel how warm and slight Noctis was in his arms. Automatically, he looked for the daemons to urge him to crush the boy—and he could it, easily, but…still the daemons were silent.

That left only…the need to comfort Noctis.

So, Ardyn wrapped one arm around the prince. Lightly, not pressing him forward. Just there, holding him in place. He patted the prince’s back (this was soothing, right? Why couldn’t Ardyn remember how this was supposed to work?), hoping it was not too awkward. But Noctis did not seem to mind. He continued crying, moving closer to Ardyn until he was fully seated within the chancellor’s embrace. 

Ardyn looked down at the young man in his arms. …Well, if anything was true, Noctis certainly was beautiful. Even when he was crying. His face was perfection incarnate, no doubt about that. Ardyn knew he should have felt jealous, and he did, a little. But he was mostly just impressed. The gods had created a beautiful creature…and obviously, sometimes that ethereal beauty attracted the wrong attention.

Ardyn wondered why the daemons inside of him were mute in Noctis’s presence. Why now, when his rival was in sight? Was there something about Noctis…his purity, his essence? His light as the Chosen One? Something else, even…?

Why...? he asked himself. Why did he feel so protective over Noct? It was normal to want to protect things that were fragile and beautiful, sure, but Noctis was more than that. Noctis was special. He was...Ardyn didn't know what this kid was, but he felt a strand of light reach the depths of his torn inner self. A light, there? But...no, impossible. Not  _now._

It felt odd, strangely vulnerable, to be without the daemons’ consciousness after so long. Still, Ardyn kind of liked it. He could look at Noctis’s beauty and feel nothing but appreciation, for once. 

They sat like that for quite a while. It felt like days to Ardyn. He lost track of time. But, he knew he could have stayed like that for much longer.

Slowly, they heard voices from the other side of the door. 

“Noct? Highness? Where are you?” 

“Hey buddy, you okay? Say something…”

“I bet he’s still in the can. I’m gonna kick his ass for making us worry.”

“Let’s just find him, Gladio.” 

Noctis raised his head slightly, recognizing the voices of his retainers. He stayed in Ardyn’s embrace, shrinking closer to the chancellor on reflex. 

Seeing Noctis trust him, Ardyn made a wish. He wished he could keep Noctis with him, to protect him and hold him always. To take him far away where no one would ever look at his beauty again and get the wrong idea. To shield the young man from his fate, even, to protect him from the Crystal’s impartial cruelty—

“I guess they’re looking for me.” Noctis turned his face up to meet Ardyn’s gaze. 

At those words, Ardyn came back into himself. No, no, what? This was reality. He could not…make wishes like a pre-pubescent girl. He had plans to fulfill. Two thousand years worth.

“Yes. Shall we, then?” Ardyn allowed himself to give the prince a small smirk. His hallmark.

By all the things living and holy on Eos, Ardyn swore Noctis blushed a little from that look. The prince glanced to the side and cleared his throat, wiping away the remnants of tears. (He had actually stopped crying some time ago.)

“Please, don’t…” Noctis looked towards the door nervously. “…tell them.” 

Ardyn nodded once in understanding. “Understood. I’ll…stay out of sight while you go to them.” 

Noctis nodded back at him. He made like he wanted to stand up. Ardyn grabbed his hands and together they rose to their feet. Sure enough, Noctis needed to lean on Ardyn for balance a few times during that feat. But Ardyn was there, ready for it. 

They stood awkwardly in each others’ space for a beat or two. Then Noctis slowly slid the coat away from his body. He sighed when it was off him, holding it out to Ardyn. 

“…Thank you,” he said again, not looking at Ardyn’s face.

“Like I said, of course.” It was clear they were referring to more than just the coat at this point.

Noctis headed for the door. He looked back at Ardyn for a brief moment, with a look of curiosity more than anything. Ardyn touched his fedora in recognition. Noctis huffed and took a deep breath, adjusting his clothes to make himself presentable.

Properly assembled—an imitation of his usual self—Noctis walked out the door. “Alright, I’m here already. Sheesh, can’t a guy get some privacy?”

The door closed behind him. Ardyn could hear the conversation Noctis had with his retainers upon their reunion. 

“On an Imperial airship? Certainly not, Highness!” 

“There he is. I told you he was shitting us.” 

“Dude, not the time for horseplay! Where were you?”

Their voices dimmed as they walked back to their guarded room. Almost time for landing, anyway. 

_Shame. What a pity to waste an opportunity for revenge…_ Well, at least the daemons were back. 

Ardyn sighed, putting himself back together in much the same way Noctis had just done. Nothing had changed, he told himself. No alterations in the plan, anyway. Whatever opportunities had been wasted or not wasted could be fixed. Life was full of opportunities.

There was always next time.

 

 

~End~

**Author's Note:**

> I struggled with tagging this one. I decided to go with Ardyn/Noct as the romance tag, but it can be read as Gen too and I'm down with that. 
> 
> Should there be more good guy!Ardyn in the world? Yes, I think there should be. Is that just me? Idk! Let me know lol. Because I am so itching to write smut for these two...(what is actually wrong with me, does anyone know?).


End file.
